Citigroup Cuts Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Price Target to $81.00

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) had its price target decreased by Citigroup from $83.00 to $81.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

ALK has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.00.

Alaska Air Group Trading Down 2.4 %

Alaska Air Group stock opened at $52.80 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $67.77 and its 200-day moving average is $56.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61. Alaska Air Group has a 1 year low of $32.62 and a 1 year high of $78.08. The company has a market cap of $6.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.31, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.50.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 14.66%. On average, equities analysts expect that Alaska Air Group will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Alaska Air Group

In other news, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 1,830 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.32, for a total value of $134,175.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,487,369.52. This trade represents a 8.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 9,500 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.90, for a total transaction of $654,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $677,976. This trade represents a 49.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 154,725 shares of company stock valued at $11,217,263 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 588 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Pacific Center for Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the third quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $52,000. 81.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alaska Air Group Company Profile

Alaska Air Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates airlines. It operates through three segments: Mainline, Regional, and Horizon. The company offers scheduled air transportation services on Boeing jet aircraft for passengers and cargo in the United States, and in parts of Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala, and the Bahamas; and for passengers across a shorter distance network within the United States, Canada, and Mexico.